Themes of dreams and fairy tale lore
Filled them with anticipation of wanting more.
For it was here that they wanted to escape to be,
When Nightmarish happenings visited their reality…
The perception of Fear made him run for his life,
From the shadows lurking behind.
Too fearful he was to face its source,
The emotions played with his mind.
The absence of sound from what he was fleeing
Made him question his silent stalker.
It wasn’t until the butterfly approached,
That he realized he fled the harmless caller.
"From this point forth," Logic stated,
"Banishing you will be my rule.
Every time I bring you out,
You make me look like a Stupid fool.
Too many times when I listen to you,
You only create more trouble.
Anger has ended more friendships than not,
While Shame and Guilt hide behind the rubble.
Where are Respect and Dignity,
Too proud for such a display?
Speaking of Pride, where was he?
He has always wanted his day.
Only then do Failure and Pessimism emerge
To rub your nose in the mess.
I’ve stood and watched too many times,
Too many wounds for one parent to dress."
"A family is not supposed to be like this," he said,
As Sadness and Fear fled to be Alone,
"Follow behind with the rest of you,
I’ll just do this on my own."
Far in the distance he heard them call,
"Have we been punished enough?"
"I’ll tell you when you’ve paid your dues,"
Logic retorted,
"You have yet to have it rough."
"It is me who has to face these storms
Withstanding the rain, sleet, and wind,
Even when I see them coming
They test my Fortitude time and again.
For even as I go it Alone,
I grow in Strength without you,
No longer do I have the Burden of
Herding the rest of you through."
The years rolled by and Logic stood Strong,
Passing the tests of Age.
As long as the rest of them stood silent in the Shadows,
Success proved stronger than Rage.
For as they grew more Discontent,
Logic outwitted them all.
He pitted the Strong against the Weak,
Leaving Confusion to take the fall.
From behind the scenes Jealousy and Rage
Began to organize the Masses,
For they sat quietly and watched Logic work,
As the unassuming students of his classes.
Slowly and quietly they snuck up on him,
And sent Pessimism and Doubt,
Disguised as Wisdom and Experience,
They would slowly tire him out.
So long had it been that he had seen them,
He had mistaken them for long lost friends.
"Those emotions are fools," they said to him,
"You sending them away was a godsend."
As Logic had walked alone for so long,
He seemed to enjoy their company.
Perhaps his Judgment had been weakened,
By absorbing the Stress of so many.
Quietly watching they began to moan,
Like a symphony of creatures in the night.
They slowly wore the aging man down,
But stopped when he turned with a glare at their sight.
"I do this for you and what do I get,
But a bunch of grumbling children.
Ungrateful as you are for my toils,
Have noticed where we are and have been?"
Logic had slipped in his assumption of their sight,
Since he neglected their perspective.
From where they stood,
They could not see,
Since their leader was so protective.
"Enough of this," Anger spoke up,
with Frustration close behind,
"If I have to live one more day like this,
I am going to lose my mind."
The others agreed it was time to act,
Too much time had passed,
The echoes of Dissent were heard all around,
Not far behind Consciousness is where they had massed.
It was just before the bugle was blown,
That a voice rang out loud,
"What would happen if Logic was gone,
Who would manage our unruly crowd?"
"Perhaps he was right to send us here,
To work through our squabbles and plights.
Maybe it was the best he knew,
To manage those many sleepless nights.
Maybe now is the time to pull together for good,
To realize all of our strengths.
It will not be until he sees we can all work as one,
Before he will give us his thanks.
So many times we looked at him
As being our evil oppressor.
But never thought to look at ourselves,
As being his angry aggressors.
Creators of trouble for him we were,
We never meant to be Mean.
What else was he to do or to think
When we left him with all the messes to clean?"
"Understanding speaks Truth," said Empathy,
"Can you imagine how Logic must feel?
He chose to go it alone all of these years."
"So what," Resentment retorted, "Big Deal.
I’ve been kept from what is mine,
It time I got my due…"
"It’s remarks like that that put us here,
We all have needs just like you."
Calmness took control of the crowd,
By appealing to what they desired,
"Perhaps it is best to acknowledge of our Needs,
To let each other know we all are Admired."
"He has a point," Sadness said,
"I’d like you all to acknowledge my Pain.
It is us who has to prove to Logic,
That we can appreciate the sun and the rain."
Together they sat for days on end,
Exploring each other’s feelings.
The richness their perspectives added to their world,
Contributed to their healing.
Suddenly all had stopped for a moment,
As Logic stood and stared in awe.
They quietly acknowledged their silent onlooker,
And he was amazed by what he saw.
Fear approached him and took his hand,
And led him to the center.
Shame stood Proudly as the representative,
Of Logic’s former Dissenters.
"We had spent many years in the dark,
And resented your demands for Compliance.
We all Blamed you for our condition in life,
But never stopped to enjoy the silence.
Yes, you share Responsibility
And may accept some Blame,
But we are willing to Love you too,"
Confidently stated Shame.
"Accepting ourselves is what we needed,
We had to find it within.
Together we acknowledge our collective Strengths,
Rejecting our Weaknesses was our sin.
We welcome you Logic with open arms,
Our
For when you sent us away for some silence,
You did the best at the time,
With what you knew."
"Forgiven you are," Resentment resounded,
"I speak on all our behalf.
I cannot believe those words came from my mouth,"
He followed with a laugh.
Logic stood surrounded by his family
Feeling a sense of Love and Acceptance,
That he never knew existed.
It was then that he led them all outside,
To spend their life,
In the sun,
Forgiven.
July, 1995